DETROIT — A Michigan mother faces criminal charges after her infant son apparently suffocated while sleeping with her in bed, according to the Detroit News.
Leslie Gwen Neuman, 33, faces involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse charges in connection with her son’s death. She was arraigned on Monday.
Police said 6-month-old Connor Kleeman was found unresponsive on Dec. 29, according to CBS Detroit.
According to prosecutors, Neuman had been drinking when she put the child on the bed with her and awoke to realize the baby was not breathing.
The medical examiner said the baby had become “wedged” between the bed and wall and died of “accident asphyxiation” as a result of “bed sharing.”
“She had consumed alcohol and woke up to find the child wedged between the bed and the wall,” Livonia Police Capt. Robert Nenciarini told the paper.
According to People, a medical worker told Child Protective Services Connor appeared to be going through drug withdrawal. A program with CPS instructed Neuman not to sleep in the same bed with her child.
Maggie Cotant, Neuman’s lawyer, said she put Connor in her bed because the child had a cold and she was worried she may not hear him if he cried.
Cotant said her client has suffered enough, having lost the infant and custody of her other children.
“I’m supposed to stay objective and professional, and I do the best I can do at that, but it’s really hard in this case,” Cotant says. “This is a person who has been punished enough. She really, truly is a good mom.”
